Hosting Conversations of Churches of Christ.

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A Teacher’s Prayer that I wrote five years ago and pray again this week. Dear God, here they come, twenty, forty, sixty, and more. Oh God, steady my knees, and nail my feet to the floor. Help me radiate confidence, to look as if I know what I’m doing. Then, after all the… Read More

The discernment of spirits is one of those things that we know is in the Bible, but are not always eager to discuss. It’s not that we are avoiding the topic, but I do think it sounds too mystical for the comfort of many Christians. After all, if we talk about discerning the… Read More

Ever felt like you’re trapped in a tiny little boat and there’s a storm raging around you—or within you—that threatens to overwhelm you? The lightning flashes, the thunderclaps deafen, the rain beats down against your face so hard that you can’t see. And this storm won’t relent. It just keeps coming. On your… Read More

I have come to believe that there are two ways of discovering the places that are sacred in our life. One way is to designate a spot as sacred: a church we build for worship or a closet we use for prayer. The other is to have places designated as sacred for us,… Read More

Featured

“O that you would tear open the heavens and come down.” These are the shocking words of the prophet from Isa 64:1. Doesn’t that sound somewhat appealing right now? With all that’s going on in our country and in our world, wouldn’t you want God to come down and straighten things out? There’s… Read More

The last several decades have witnessed the flourishing of a certain enchantment with monasticism. Whether it’s the product of some “postmodern” thirst for spirituality, or the idealistic quest of youth that equates radical practice with authenticity, or simply perhaps the perennial appeal of novelty, the literature of Christian spirituality that taps into centuries… Read More

Several months back, my car was in the shop and I found myself without my primary mode of transportation. Rather than beg rides off of my friends, I decided that for a period of time, I would try to ride our public bus. In our city, we have a public transportation system like… Read More

He was left all alone. [1] For centuries these haunting words have filled the space between human extremity and divine encounters. [2] Jacob met God in the desert, in the dark and all alone. Jacob’s entire life had led him to this divine moment, a wrestling match with the creator of the universe.… Read More

As I hold this newborn child in my arms, tears rolling down my face, I realize I have no idea what to do next.… Last week my wife and I welcomed our new baby into the world. We are now a family of four, with a newborn, a three-year-old, and two exhausted parents… Read More

New Testament scholar Kavin Rowe, along with Gregory Jones, recently released a small book entitled Thriving Communities: The Pattern of Church Life Then and Now. [1] Rowe has done a great deal of scholarly work on Acts. Utilizing that knowledge he offers some remarkable and convicting observations about the life of the early… Read More

Resources

In Christ, all are reconciled to God and to each other, and in the Spirit, God calls us to proclaim this good news throughout the world. World Convention (Christian-Churches of Christ-Disciples of Christ) embodies and encourages fellowship, understanding, and common purpose within this global family of churches and relates them to the whole…

The Journal of Faith and the Academy is a biannual publication of the Institute of Faith and the Academy at Faulkner University in Montgomery, AL. It is devoted to research and reflection on how the Christian faith shapes and informs the study and teaching of all academic disciplines as well as how the…

TheRestorationMovement.com is a site dedicated to the history of the restoring of New Testament Christianity all around the globe over the last several hundred years. Many men and women have dedicated themselves to the preaching and teaching of the original gospel who have been all but forgotten.

About CHARIS

CHARIS hosts conversations of and about Churches of Christ. The website is intended to support education for Christian life and community through contemporary discussions and historical sources that variously witness to the gifts (“charis”) of God among Churches of Christ, especially their plea for visible unity among Christians through ongoing renewal and restoration of Scriptural beliefs and practices among God’s people.

The CHARIS website is supported by Abilene Christian University (Abilene, TX, USA), the Center for Heritage and Renewal in Spirituality (CHARIS) at ACU. The purpose of CHARIS at ACU is to seek God’s blessings for a healthy relationship between the Christian college/university – its faculty, staff, and students – and the church heritage that gives identity and meaning to such a school. This underlying concern for Christian colleges/universities, and their relationship to the churches, is reflected in the form and content of the CHARIS website.